Police in the Western North Region say they have arrested four men and their driver for allegedly posing as National Security operatives and raiding mining sites at Suiaboi in the Suaman District.

The regional police commander, DCOP Francis Tsidi, who confirmed the incident, said the suspects were picked up on April 2, 2026, following swift intelligence-led operations.

The suspects — Amponsah Asare Wagan, 33; Nelson Agbodzah, 28; Awedagah Norbert, 27; Francis Brefo, 35; and driver Benjamin Boakye, 48 — were allegedly moving through several communities dressed as National Security officers, demanding documents from miners and seizing items from individuals at the sites. Their activities raised suspicion among residents, prompting some community members to confront them while others alerted police.

According to a police report, officers intercepted the group as they attempted to leave the area and transported them to the Dadieso Police Station. “We acted immediately on the information received and arrested all five individuals along their route,” the police said.

Preliminary investigations revealed inconsistent claims from the suspects. Wagan, the alleged ringleader, claimed he was a medical doctor, the son of a security official, and a branch communicator of a political party in Kwadaso. Others claimed various affiliations with National Security, the Ashanti Regional Coordinating Council, and NADMO. However, police later established that some of the men had no links to any security agency and were unemployed.

Investigators believe the operation was premeditated. Police say Wagan gathered the group in Kumasi earlier that day under the guise of collecting intelligence in Bibiani. He rented a Toyota Hilux from LEASAFRIC, with Boakye as the designated driver, but instead led the group to Suiaboi. At the mining site, the suspects allegedly damaged equipment, ransacked workers’ rooms, and made away with mobile phones and GHS 2,000.

A search of the rented vehicle uncovered several items suspected to be stolen, including car batteries, water pumping machines, a starter, a hose, a metal excavator part, five phones, keys, a live AA cartridge, and a pair of military camouflage trousers.

In a surprising twist, police say Wagan later confessed that he had been contracted by a former worker at the mining site, identified only as Yaw, to “expose the activities” of his ex-boss, the alleged site owner.

On April 4, LEASAFRIC’s Transport Manager, Francis Duah, submitted all necessary documents covering the rented pickup to assist with the investigation.

Police say the suspects will be arraigned once investigations are complete, adding that efforts are ongoing to verify their identities and the full extent of their activities.